Elizabeth Warren, a senator from the US, denied the accusations of defaming Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao by her attorney, after the senator made a statement following a pardon of the crypto executive by President Trump. The reply came in a formal letter that was obtained by the Punchbowl News, which said that Warren’s statement was “completely accurate” and did not come close to the legal standard required for defamation.
Ben Stafford, who is Elizabeth Warren’s representative, replied to the defamation threat from CZ’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén. The disagreement resulted from Warren’s tweet, where she alleged that Zhao “pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge.” In his letter, Stafford explained that the statement of Warren was in line with “widely reported facts” and related to a “guilty plea” by Zhao to a “criminal violation of the Bank Secrecy Act,” a law which the DOJ has identified as the country’s “first and most comprehensive” anti-money laundering law.
Goody Guillén had earlier informed the New York Post that in case Warren didn’t retract her comments, Zhao would take her to court for defamation. She also said in her letter that the admission of guilt of Zhao only involved a “regulatory count” – failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program under the Bank Secrecy Act – and that there was no “money laundering charge.”
“Mr. Zhao will not be a silent spectator when a U.S. Senator exploits her office in order to issue defamatory statements that tarnish his reputation,” Goody Guillén argued, notifying that court proceedings could follow soon. In addition to that, the Binance CEO had also rejected Warren’s characterization in public, where he wrote on X that “no money laundering charges” existed.
In his reply, Stafford argued that Warren’s allegation was “true in every respect” and hence not defamatory. He went on to say that even if Zhao were to take the matter to court, the U.S. defamation law being a speech-protective standard would probably grant Warren the immunity as a result of Zhao being a public figure and the necessity of him proving actual malice.
“Her X post does not indicate—and should not be interpreted as indicating—that he pled guilty to any other money laundering charge,” Stafford explained, emphasizing that Warren’s statement was not only factually accurate but also in line with the public record.
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